You brief a distributor. We forward it. They reply.

Who actually forwards the brief

Miguel Baptista. Ten-plus years running commercial roles for B2B manufacturers entering Scandinavia — medical devices, dental, industrial, food. Based in Gothenburg. He personally reads every brief, writes the cover note, and sends the email. There's no automated middleware and no outsourced virtual assistant — this is one person doing the work because the quality of the cover note is what determines whether a distributor actually opens and replies.

The directory is a side of Miguel's consultancy, Fractio, a go-to-market advisory focused on the Nordic-Iberian corridor. Fractio helps foreign companies design and execute their Nordic market entry — pricing strategy, regulatory path, country selection, distributor negotiation. That's the paid service. The brief forwarding is deliberately unpaid.

Why this is free

Three honest reasons, in the order they matter:

• It gives Miguel a reason to talk to distributors. Every brief is a warm excuse to open a conversation with a Nordic distributor — about your product, but also about them. Over time, those conversations build the network that powers the paid Fractio service. The directory isn't a charity; it's a relationship engine.
• The briefs themselves are market intelligence. After 50 briefs, patterns emerge: which categories foreign exporters are pushing into the Nordics, what price points, which countries they prioritise. That's research data nobody else has and it sharpens every other piece of advice Fractio gives.
• Some briefs turn into paid work. Not every exporter just needs an introduction. Some need regulatory guidance, pricing strategy, or a Fractional Sales Director to run the whole market entry. Those are the cases where Fractio gets paid. Most briefs won't become paid engagements — and that's fine, because the other two reasons already justify the effort.

What we share with the distributor

The email we forward contains exactly what you submitted in the brief, plus a two- or three-sentence cover note from Miguel. Specifically:

• Your company name — so the distributor can do basic due diligence before replying
• Your product description — exactly as you wrote it
• Target Nordic countries — the ones you ticked
• Revenue band — used to gauge commercial fit, not published
• Launch timeline — so they know whether this is a now-conversation or a later-conversation
• Your email address — so the distributor can reply to you directly

That's it. Nothing else is attached. We don't share your phone number (we don't ask for one), browsing behaviour, or any other data point.

How to write a brief a distributor will actually read

The forwarding service is only as good as the brief you submit. Five practical rules:

• Be specific about the product. "Medical devices" is too vague. "CE-marked Class IIb orthopaedic implants, 4 SKUs, used in hip and knee arthroplasty" is something a distributor can say yes or no to in 30 seconds.
• Name the countries you actually want, not all four. Pan-Nordic briefs get generic replies. A brief that says "Denmark first, Sweden within 12 months, Norway/Finland later" shows you've thought about sequencing and is taken more seriously.
• Be honest about revenue. Distributors use the revenue band to gauge whether you're at the stage where they can commit shelf space and sales effort. Exaggerating upwards just wastes everyone's time when the real numbers come out.
• Mention where you're already sold. "Currently in DE, FR, IT with €2M annual distributor revenue" is the single strongest credibility signal you can add. It tells the distributor other professional buyers have already said yes.
• Say why this distributor specifically. One line is enough. "We like that you already carry [brand X] in the same category" or "Your coverage of the private-hospital channel fits our product" tells the distributor you did homework, not a mass-send.

What happens if the distributor doesn't reply

Some briefs don't land. Either the distributor is at capacity, the product isn't a fit, or the partnership contact has changed and we're emailing a dormant mailbox. When that happens:

• Day 5 — we follow up once with a polite nudge
• Day 10 — if still no reply, we tell you honestly and suggest two or three alternative distributors from the directory who cover a similar profile
• If no one in the directory fits — we say so, and where we can, point you to adjacent players outside the directory (for example, a veterinary distributor might be a closer fit than a human-pharma one for certain products)

We don't pad the directory with non-responders or pretend everything's fine when it isn't. An honest "this distributor passed — here are two better fits" is more useful than a month of radio silence.

When the free forward isn't enough

Some market-entry situations need more than an introduction. If your brief involves any of the following, the free forward will help but probably won't get you across the line:

• Your product has a regulatory path that differs between Nordic countries (most medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food supplements, cosmetics with active claims)
• You don't yet have a Nordic-specific pricing strategy and you're about to get quoted on a 3-year commitment
• You're choosing between multiple distributors and need an independent view on which one actually wins the category
• You want to negotiate the distribution agreement itself rather than accept the distributor's standard template
• You're considering setting up your own Nordic subsidiary instead of going through a distributor

That's the Fractio service. It's a fractional commercial director or advisory engagement — usually a few months, sometimes retainer, always time-bound. If you want to talk, reply to the confirmation email when your brief is submitted, or book a call directly.

Frequently asked